Volunteers live up to university motto
By Meisha Baker
Super Saturday of Service took place Oct. 20 during Family Weekend. The purpose of Super Saturday of Service was for university students, faculty and their families to get an opportunity to live up to the university’s motto of “Education for Service.”
Super Saturday of Service is an annual event that allows students, faculty, staff and their families to give back to the surrounding Indianapolis communities. The Indianapolis Student Government and the United Way of Central Indiana sponsored the event.
According to ISG Service Committee Co-Chair Joshua Elijah, more than 270 students, faculty and family members participated in the event.
“There was a substantial increase from the amount of people that participated in the previous Super Saturday of Service,” said ISG Vice President Katy Smith.
The participants met behind Nicoson Hall, where several school buses waited to take them to various locations around Indianapolis.
Participants were bused to Lutheran Child and Family Services, the Keep Indianapolis Beautiful organization, Gleaners Food Bank, Thrifty Threads, Clean Stream environmental organization, Refugee Program/Catholic Charities, Resource for Independent Living and St. Elizabeth/Coleman Pregnancy and Adoption Services.
All of the organizations are based in Indianapolis and help people in the community by providing them with services that they are unable to acquire on their own.
Everyone who attended the event participated in activities such as sorting clothes and painting. President of the Black Student Association Elisha Smith registered her organization to be a part of the service.
“The reason I involved my organization in the event was because I thought it would be a chance for us to bond as a group,” Smith said. “Not only that, but [we wanted] to give back to the community as a group.”
The BSA went to Thrifty Threads, an organization that donates clothing to women and men who have been domestically abused. The goal of the BSA students was to help out the shelter with whatever was needed for the day. BSA members helped organize clothing and cleaned the store as part of their service work.
The service day not only gave to the surrounding community but helped the participants feel good about themselves as well.
“As a leader of an organization, I think that it is very important to get out in the community and give a helping hand,” Smith said. “You gain a personal advancement by knowing that you as an individual were a part of an event that made a difference.”
